Dad’s Army stamps: Royal Mail marks 50 years since sitcom’s first episode

Special commemorative

Special commemorative stamps will feature
beloved characters like Captain Mainwaring and Private Pike

One-Minute Read

The BBC sitcom, which followed the wartime misadventures of a
bumbling Home Guard troop led by the officious Captain Mainwaring,
ran from 1968 to 1977

As well as Arthur Lowe as the pompous commanding
officer, the show starred Clive Dunn as skittish old-timer Lance
Corporal Jones and Ian Lavender as the child-like Private
Pike.

At its peak, Dad’s Army reached upwards of 18
million viewers, cementing its status as one of Britain’s
best-loved sitcoms.

The Royal Mail’s commemorative collection
includes eight stamps featuring characters alongside their familiar
catchphrases, such as Captain Mainwaring’s withering “Stupid boy!”
and Private Frazer’s frequent cry of “We’re doomed. Doomed!”.

Other stamps in the set portray some of the
show’s most memorable moments, such as the infamous “Don’t tell
‘em, Pike” scene. They will be on sale from 26
June.

Ian Lavender, the only surviving member of the
original cast, told the Daily Mail that the Royal Mail’s tribute to the
show was overwhelming. “When you’re young you may dream of
many things but one never thinks there is a possibility of being on
a stamp!” he said.